Beyond Directed Ortho Metalation: Ruthenium-Catalyzed Amide-Directed CAr–N Activation/C–C Coupling Reaction of Anthranilamides with Organoboronates

A new, catalytic, and general methodology for the synthesis of biaryls and heterobiaryls by the cross coupling of anthranilamide derivatives (o-NMe2 benzamides) with aryl boroneopentylates is described. The reaction proceeds under catalytic RuH2(CO)(PPh3)3 conditions driven by the activation of the unreactive C-N bond by amide directing group (DG)-Ru catalyst chelation. High regioselectivity, orthogonality with the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, operational simplicity, and convenient scale-up are features of these reactions which may lend themselves to industrial applications.